Tea Party PACs help bankroll Ted Cruz Senate bid

Tea Party organizations that championed the congressional upset victories of Michele Bachmann in Minnesota, Scott Brown in Massachusetts and Marco Rubio in Florida now have their eyes – and their pocketbooks – aimed at Texas.

Tea Party political action committees are targeting U.S. Senate candidate Ted Cruz as their conservative of choice, offering support and campaign spending to bolster his bid to succeed retiring Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison, R-Dallas.

The SuperPAC arms of their fund-raising organizations have already spent over $100,000 to promote Cruz, according financial disclosure data.

Senate Conservatives Fund, the Tea Party aligned independent group led by South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint, boasts investing $280,000 to elect Cruz.

Calling for an “all-out SCF Surge” in fund-raising efforts for Cruz, DeMint challenged his donor base to reach their goal of raising over $200,000 to rival Cruz’s opponent, Lt. Gov. David Dewhurst, who has self-financed just under half of his campaign.

“Ted is running against a well-known Republican with deep pockets,” DeMint posted to the group’s website. “SCF members helped launch Josh Mandel’s campaign in Ohio this past June by investing over $110,000 in his campaign in just over 48 hours, and now we need to do the same for Ted Cruz in Texas.”

Club for Growth PAC, another supporting group, is conjuring comparisons between Cruz, who is of Cuban decent, with the Cuban “crown prince” of the Tea Party movement, Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Florida.

“We endorsed Marco Rubio when he was 30 points down to Charlie Christ, and now they call him Senator Rubio,” said Barney Keller, spokesman for Club for Growth.

According to campaign finance filings, independent group spent over $14,000 for Cruz since endorsing him in June.

Former House Majority Leader and Texas Republican delegate, Dick Armey, who now runs FreedomWorks, is also putting money behind his early endorsement of Cruz. Independent expenditure data shows FreedomWorks spent over $16,000 advocating Cruz in the past two months.

As Cruz’s campaign pointed out, he is the only candidate in the country to earn endorsements from this Tea Party trifecta.

“I am humbled and gratified by this incredible outpouring of support,” Cruz said in a statement announcing having raised a total $2.8 million for his race. “All across Texas, and all across the nation, we’re seeing tremendous enthusiasm and excitement, as grassroots activists, Tea Party leaders, Republican women, and trusted conservative leaders are all uniting behind our campaign.”